Freddy Sanchez reluctantly agrees he might miss SF Giants’ opener

Second baseman Freddy Sanchez acknowledged just now that he, like manager Bruce Bochy, is resigned to the fact that he might miss his second Opening Day in three seasons as a Giant, because he is not throwing well enough to play in the field.

“I agree with him,” Sanchez said after going 1-for-5 with a single in a minor-league game between Giants and A’s Triple-A players. “Obviously, we’re getting late here. It’s got to be on all of our minds. Hey, am I a go? Will I be out there or not? I had no doubt in my mind I’d be out there Opening Day. Now that it’s getting close, you’ve got to look at it and say, is it possible I won’t be? They’ve got to have their options open.

“Obviously I want to get out there. I’m holding out hope.”

Sanchez’s readiness for the April 6 opener was not supposed to be an issue. The surgery to repair his dislocated right shoulder and tighten the shoulder capsule was seven months ago. Even with a conservative plan for throwing, he was supposed to be playing in Cactus League games by now.

However, he still has not thrown well enough to Bochy’s satisfaction to get into a game. The issue is the pivot and throw to first on a double play. The last time Sanchez took infield, Bochy felt his throws were tentative. Sanchez said he doesn’t notice any hesitancy, but he trusts what his manager sees.

One bit of good news for Sanchez: He said he has no pain in the area of his shoulder that was repaired. What pain he has encountered is in other areas of the arm, a possible case of overcompensating to protect the area that was injured.

He is absolutely certain he will return at 100 percent. The only question is when.

I asked Sanchez is he would be devastated not to start the opener.

“Definitely,” he said. “It’s been a long process and recovery to get back on the field. I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t wear on you, not just physically but mentally. I figure I’ve given everything I had in the offseason, since the surgery, even before that. I really felt when we talked a month ago that Opening Day was not even a question. As we get later into the spring, I’ve got to get out there. If I’m not out there, they’ve got to figure on other options.”

There’s nothing wrong with Sanchez’s legs. After singling, he scored from first on a double by Hector Sanchez, who also got five at-bats and played in the Triple-A game so he could catch Matt Cain.

Cain faced the Triple-A A’s because the Giants are off today and he needed to keep on his throwing schedule. He threw five shutout innings, allowing a single and three doubles with no walks and four strikeouts. He said he treated this game as a normal exhibition game, even if the crowd was more like 100 than 10,000. He was not trying to work on locations or certain pitches. He was trying to get outs.

Incidentally, if the Giants skip Ryan Vogelsong’s first turn in the rotation, Cain likely would pitch the April 13 home opener, in what might be his final year with the Giants (a great chance for the fans to let him know how much they would like this not to be his last year with the Giants.